Market Wrap, April 6: SENSEX, NIFTY50 stage sharp recovery, end over 1% higher; Trent jumps 8%

The Indian stock market erased early losses and settled with 1% gains on Monday, April 6, as market investor sentiment improved on hopes of a possible ceasefire in the Middle East.

A report suggested that Iran and the United States have received a plan to end hostilities that could come into effect on Monday and ‌reopen the Strait of Hormuz, news agency Reuters reported, citing a source aware of the matter. 

The equity benchmark indices staged a gap-down opening after tension in the Middle East escalated. In a tough message to Iran, US President Donald Trump, in a Truth Social post, said that Iran will be "living in a hell" if the Strait of Hormuz is not opened. He said the deadline is "Tuesday, 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time".

Meanwhile, a framework to end hostilities has been put together by Pakistan and exchanged with Iran and the US overnight, outlining a two-tier approach with an immediate ceasefire followed by a comprehensive agreement, the Reuters report added.

According to exchange data, on Friday, the foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold equities worth ₹9,931.13 crore, while the domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought equities worth ₹7,208.41 crore on a net basis.

On the global front, Asian indices, which were open on Monday, were mostly trading in green, with investors closely keeping an eye on the Iran war developments, soaring oil prices and what President Donald Trump's next comments will be. Most of the markets in Asia were closed on account of a holiday on Monday.

South Korea's KOSPI advanced 1.34% and Japan’s Nikkei ended up 0.81%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index slipped 1.06%.

US markets shook off an early stumble to finish with slim gains on Wall Street on Thursday and close out their first winning week since the start of the Iran war. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.13%, the S&P 500 rose 0.11% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.2%.

Here are the key developments of Monday’s session that you need to know

As many as 3,346 stocks traded on the NSE on Monday. Out of this, 2,511 advanced and 746 declined, while 89 scrips remained unchanged.

This indicates that the market's breadth is favourable towards advances.

A total of 33 stocks hit their 52-week highs, while 47 stocks touched their one-year lows. Besides, 187 stocks hit their upper circuit limits, and 45 touched their lower circuit bands on Monday.

The market capitalisation of NSE-listed companies stood at ₹426.39 lakh crore by the end of the session.

The volatility index India VIX fell 0.2% to close at 25.47 levels.

The Nifty Midcap 100 index ended at 54,492.65 levels, surging 1.52%, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 gauge settled 1.29% higher at 15,853.05 levels.

Almost all sectors ended the session in green, with Nifty Consumer Durables (2.6%) taking the lead, followed by Nifty PSU Bank (2.33%), Nifty Realty (2.23%), Nifty Private Bank (2.16%), and Nifty Metal (1.11%). Nifty Media was the only loser, falling 0.22%.

On Monday, 43 stocks advanced on the NIFTY50 index, while only 7 settled in red.

Trent was the most contributing stock, soaring 8%, followed by SBI Life Insurance (3.74%), Titan Company (3.58%), Adani Enterprises (3.56%) and Shriram Finance (3.5%).

On the flip side, Reliance Industries (-3.3%), ONGC (-2.04%), Max Healthcare (-1.23%), Eicher Motors (-0.86%), JSW Steel (-0.77%), HCL Technologies (-0.16%) and Dr Reddy's Laboratories (-0.02%) were the only laggards.